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How to Save Money Quickly with a No-Spend Month

You win when you take control of your money

Sandra Pawula
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
7 min readDec 30, 2024

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Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA production from Pexels

I’ve never been able to wrap my head around money management.

As a young adult, I accrued library fines, unpaid parking tickets, and credit card debt. I never considered my future self and her financial stability. I lived for the moment, but not in the healthy sense of the phrase.

Marriage saved me. My caring husband, afraid I would ruin his credit score, managed our money. But almost three decades later, after a gray divorce, my nemesis, money management, raised its head again.

My financial expertise improved thanks to learning a few of my husband’s tips and tricks. Automatic payments became my best friend. I no longer had credit card debt, and my savings were securely held in a high-interest online savings account — currently, you can earn up to 5%.

However, I didn’t acquire a complete set of money management skills, which is why I plan to do a no-spend month in January 2025. The same no-spend idea can be applied to any week, month, or year.

Here’s the problem: My monthly expenses are higher than my income.

That may not be unusual for retired people. Like me, many older adults depend on their retirement savings to fill the gap between…

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Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

Published in Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright) Non-fiction pieces, personal essays and occasional poems that explore how we feel about how we age and offer tips for getting the most out of life.

Sandra Pawula
Sandra Pawula

Written by Sandra Pawula

Essays to calm your mind, ease your heart and access your inner wisdom. I love Hawaii, mindfulness, and living with ease. https://sandrapawula.substack.com/

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